A review by cvergobbi
Air Mail: Letters of Politics, Pandemics, and Place by Amy Irvine, Pam Houston

5.0

If you are feeling lonely and unmoored and afraid, these letters will ground you. The interactions between Houston and Irvine (who live across the continental divide from each other in Colorado and have never met in person) tackle everything from the pandemic and current politics to motherhood, misogyny, the meaning of community, ancient cave paintings, the ugly history of the United States, horseback riding, humanity's place in nature, and the fine line between realism and hope. While there are certainly moments of privilege and tone-deafness, they are often acknowledged and challenged in ways you don't always see with white, western nature writing. Overall, this book gave me hope, made me feel better about the world around me, and reminded me of the purpose and power we all have, even when the world and our lives spin out of our control.